Signor of one-half to byron g



(No Model.)

A. W. WOODWARD. LINE FASTENING SINKER.

No. 575,674. Patented Jan. 19, 1897.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AMBROSE WEBSTER FVOODlVARD, OF LANCASTER, PENNSYLVANIA, AS-

SIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO BYRON G. DODGE, OF SAME PLACE.

LINE-FASTENING SINKER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 575,674, dated January 19, 1897.

Application filed May 29,1896. Serial No. 593,596. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, AMBROSE WEBSTER WooDwAED, a citizen of the United States, residing'at Lancaster, in the county of Laucaster and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Combined Sinker, Line, and Snood Fastener; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in a fishing-line sinker of the class usually secured to the line at a point above the hook for the purpose of sinking the baited hook expeditiously in water where it would not otherwise readily sink.

It has been the practice heretofore to tie or loop leaden or other metallic weights to such lines for this purpose which always have to be again untied or unlooped when it is desired to remove them, being operations more or less tedious when the lines are dry and extremely tedious,even difficult,when said lines are wet. It is the object, therefore, of the invention to provide a sinker that may be readily and expeditiously secured to a fishing-line and with equal facility again removed therefrom, let said line be dry or wet.

The elements of the invention will separately appear in the following description and will be severally set forth in the claim.

The purposes of the invention are attained by the means and devices illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which similar letters of reference designate like parts throughout the several views, and in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a sinker embodying the elements of the invention,with the lower end of a line and the upper end of a link thereto attached; Fig. 2, a similar elevation with the said elements in position for detaching both line and link; Fig. 3, a horizontal section through the center line,viewed from above, of the sinker as it appears in Fig. 1, with the portions of both line and link broken away. Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are detail views of elements used in the construction. Fig. 7 is a view, partially in section, of a modi fication in which the spring is covered; and Figs. 8 and 9 are modifications, respectively, of the central shaft and of a sinker in central longitudinal section, using a spring and washer at each end thereof.

The sinker referred to in the preamble hereto is practically elliptical in form, (see Figsl, 2, and 3,) but it may have any other approved shape. It is made, preferably, of brass, but any other suitable material may be used in its construction, and, as shown in the drawings, its body A, comprises two portions or members A A, a central shaft B, having ball ends I), and a coiled spring 0.

The portions A A are exactly alike, and, as the three views in Fig. 6 show, each one is provided with an axial bore a for the passage of the shaft B, the outer end a of said bore being outwardly flaring for close en gagement with a ball end I) of said shaft, and. the inner flat end of each portion is provided with a ring-flange A forming interiorly a cylindrical socket a receiving an end of a thimble-screw, yet to be described, and exteriorly a peripheral ring-shoulder a to receive abuttingly the action of an end of the spring C, before mentioned.

The shaft 13, before mentioned, is composed of two portions B B, each, Fig. A, being provided at its outer end with a globular or ball head 17, fitting closely the flare ends of the axial bore'before mentioned, and at its inner end I) with screw threads to engage the threads within a sleeve or thimble-screw B Fig. 5, whereby said portions are joined to complete said shaft, while near to the outer ends of the shaft or where said ends join their respective globular heads are placed notches b vanishing in the opposite sides of said globular heads, Fig. 4, adapted to receive the closed ends of the loops, respectively, at the ends of fishing-lines or hook-links, as shown.

In Fig. 3 the several parts just described are shown to be in their respective positions to form a sinker of the class desired with the loop ends of both hook-link and line in their respective hooks b and a spiral spring 0 in place between the respective portions or members A A, pressing them normally outward with their outer ends against their respective ball-heads, holding said line and link-loops securely in place.

Fig. 1 shows the sinker completed with line and hook-link attached, while Fig. 2 shows the spring C compressed and the portions or members A A in the respective positions, when said line and link may be readily removed.

In Fig. 7 is shown a modification of the sinker in which the ring-flange of one of the portions is arranged flush with its outer surface and that of the other arranged to move telescopingly within said flange, both flanges having been slightly prolonged, whereby a housing-chamber A is formed about the central shaft B, in which a coiled spring C, of less diameter than the spring 0, before mentioned, serves to perform the functions of the latter, and in which said spring 0 is completely housed and protected from contact with outside objects that might give it injury.

\Vhen so desired, the central shaft may be made in one piece, as shown in Fig. 8, and the ball at one end secured thereto in being bored diametrically and in having a spindle b at said end passed through said bore and riveted, brazed, or otherwise secured in place.

The body of the sinker may likewise be made in one piece A as shown in Fig. 9, longitudinally bored for the shaft and provided at the ends thereof with sockets a, in which coiled springs C surrounding said shaft and ,having washers or collars c on their outer ends to contact with the ball ends of the shaft, serve to press said collars outwardly against said ball ends to keep the line and link-loops confined in their respective notches 12 Having now described the invention and ascertained the manner in which its functions are performed, what is considered new, and desired to be secured by Letters Patent, is-

A sinker having a central shaft with ball ends at the extremities thereof and outwardlyvanishing side notches at the juncture of said ball ends with the extremities of said shaft, two body portions or members sleeved upon the shaft and provided with outwardly-flarin g bore ends for close engagement with the ball ends of said shaft, and a coiled spring between the body portions with its extremities in engagement with adjacent faces of said portions whereby their outer flaring ends are kept in close contact with the ball ends of said shaft, all substantially as described and for the purpose hereinbefore set forth. v

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

AMBROSE WEBSTER \YOODWARI). \Vitnesses:

J. D. HERB, JEREMIAH RIFE. 

